Harvest Chef
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: Fed up with the lack of cooking competition in Flower Bud Village, Mayor Theodore starts the first annual Harvest Chef competition, where an outsider will challenge the village's top cook! Things start to go downhill, however...
1. The Harvest Chef

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, it's characters, or the concept of "Iron Chef", although I guess that second part isn't completely obvious. Whatever. Just have fun trying to figure everything out. _

Prologue

"Yo Mayor! There's something I've always wanted to ask you!"

"Go ahead, son. Shoot".

Within Flower Bud Village, two men were in deep discussion within the Mayor's house.

One wore blue suspenders over a white shirt with a backwards blue cap on top, having two tufts of brown hair sticking out at the side. He was the famous farmer Jack, whose old city-slicker ways managed to win over the hearts of the numerous colorful villagers, especially that of his lovely wife, Lyla.

The other is a short, middle-aged political figure in a snazzy red outfit with a big black top hat. Below his round nose was a big brown mustache that went along with his neatly-fixed brown hair. He was Mayor Theodore, head of Flower Bud Village.

"I've heard that some of the other rural villages get together during the Fall to do some sort of Cooking Contest Festival. The closest thing we seem to have around is the Harvest Festival, but we just gather around try everyone's dishes. What gives? Why don't we have a competition for this kind of thing, anyway? It would be the perfect excuse to give another power berry or something!" Jack complained.

Undaunted, Mayor Theodore gave a simple chuckle. "My dear Jack, in Flower Bud Village, we would preffer not to encourage this kind of competition amongst our fair citizen. We believe that the joy of cooking in itself is a reward beyond what any contest could offer!"

Jack gave him a funny look. "You're just saying that so you don't encourage the participation of a few... "unfavorable" competitors in this village, aren't you?"

Caught by surprise, Mayor Theodore went into a coughing fit. "Wha- I... I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Jack my friend!"

Jack simply replied with a disgusted glare.

"Okay, okay... you're right. But not only are we afraid of "unsavory" competition, we are at an all-time shortage of power berries, and it would seem silly to offer fodder or bird feed as a prize" Mayor Theodore explained, "BUT... we HAVE considered the absence of a true cooking contest, and our citizens have established a most wonderful style of cooking contest both unique and exciting compared to any typical cooking contest!"

Jack still looked most skeptical. "In what way?" he demanded.

"Instead of having a bunch of amateur cooks going at it for the title, Flower Bud Village feels a more "outreaching" approach is more appropriate. We'll put our village's best chef against any eager outsider! It'll be the best way to let the world know of our culinary excellence!"

"That's... a bit braggish," Jack sighed "I know Flower Bud Village has plenty of good cooks, but I happen to know by my experiences that there are plenty other talented chefs out in the world. Actually, I remember this girl, I believe she was Popuri of Mineral Town, and her Chocolate Cake was---"

"Silence, Son! Don't interrupt me when I'm on a roll!" Mayor Theodore cried. "Anyway, due to the recent booming business our humble burg has experienced, I've managed to gather enough resources to advertise some interesting prizes able to entice any curious outsider! It won't be a simple cooking contest, it'll be a cooking duel between two accomplished individuals, a mysterious underdog testing his or her abilities against our super chef! Witnesses of our annual event will swoon in awe as they compete for the title of... Harvest Chef!"

Jack started twitching upon hearing this. "... You know, you could STILL give these wonderful prizes in any old cooking contest, and the "title" seems a bit... much. You realize you're overdoing this a bit, don't you?"

"Nonsense!" Mayor Theodore scoffed. "While we've been lucky enough to receive some permanent residence thanks to the new Land Deal I proposed, we still lack sufficient communing! No village can grow properly without more business! At our rate, we won't be able to expand our economy, or even build a snazzy new movie theatre!"

"Movie Theatre.. right... y'know, if I truly wished to have one of those nearby, I never would've moved from the city" Jack groaned. "Anyway, I'm really curious now. Who IS our "Harvest Chef", anyway?"

Mayor Theodore laughed with utter confidence. "To ensure Flower Bud Village has its best representative, I set up a poll by the bulletin board in the Village Square, and by an overwhelming majority vote, the people have chosen Carl as our Harvest Chef!" he boasted.

"Carl, huh? Well, I suppose he'll do. Gwen must be disappointed, though. She really has her heart set on a cooking career, other than her horse riding hobby, y'know" said Jack.

"Indeed it is, but the people have spoken. Just between you and me, Gwen did received quite a few votes herself to come in second, and Ellen came at an honorable third. But then... for some inexplicable reason, Katie received one vote" the Mayor explained.

"Really.. I wonder who voted for her?" Jack said in sarcasm.

"Yes... that's one mystery I'll never understand" Mayor Theodore said, actually meaning it..

In disbelief, Jack gave Mayor Theodore a blank stare.

"Anyway, since you know Flower Bud Village's official Harvest Chef, I suppose you deserve the chance to know the competition. The Harvest Chef Competition will be needing three trustworthy judges, and I would be honored if you would accept this position"

Surprised by the sudden news, Jack cheerfully grinned. "Really, well, that's nice, Mayor! Sure, I'll accept! And you can count on me to give my best critique, too!" Curiously, Jack looked at a manila envelope in Mayor Theodore's hands. "Okay! Go ahead and let me at the file on our challenger! I've gotta see this!" he exclaimed.

"Here you go, Jack my boy!" Mayor Theodore grinned. "Our first challenger's quite the looker, to be honest. We'll be getting a huge audience with this one!"

"Really? Well, it's a good thing this isn't a beauty contest! Lyla could get jealous in an instant if she knew I was judging something like that. And... I don't know how I'd react to seeing Carl in a bathing suit" Jack chuckled as he opened the envelope.

Mayor Theodore gave a hearty laugh. "That's true! Things would get ugly "

After removing the challenger's application from the envelope, Jack quickly scanned through the profile and picture. Upon recognizing the person in the picture, Jack was immediately filled with sheer terror . "It's... HER! You mean... SHE'S... coming... HERE? ... SHE'S... COMPETING?"

**Harvest Moon: Magical Melody **

**Harvest Chef **

A week passed. The villagers eagerly gathered around Flower Bud Square, awaiting the start of the 1st annual "Harvest Chef" competition. A huge stage was set up in the northern section, with a podium, a big screen, and the Judge's table already fixed up. The table was decorated with a fancy red cloth and long enough to hold three chairs. An electric generator stood where the blue bin usually stood. A few tables, set up neatly with some kitchen utensils and prime ingredients were set up a fair amount of space in front of the podium. To the right of these tables In the southernmost area, tall bleachers faced the cooking arena.

While everyone was chatting around the bleachers, a worried Jack rested his on his folded arms at the Judge's Table. Soon, a beautiful young lady with wavy pink hair in a blue dress immediately approached him.

"Darling! I heard some interesting news! An old friend of yours is coming for the Harvest Chef competition, am I right?"

Jack raised his ever so slightly to get a good sight of his wife. "Lyla! Yeah, I suppose that's cause for celebration" he said half-heartedly.

Lyla expressed some sudden concern. "Darling, are you okay? You… don't sound too thrilled"

Jack gave a deep sigh. "It's... going to be tough being the judge. It'll be good seeing an old friend after so long, but I'm extremely worried with what'll happen during the event"

"What do you mean? Are you worried you'll hurt your friend if her food isn't better?" Lyla asked.

"It's much worse than that..." Jack emphasized. He then got close to his loving wife's ear and whispered something very discreetly to her.

"She's WHAT?" Lyla exclaimed.

"Yeah, I don't understand why she bothered coming here for the competition. It was Charcoaled Chicken for one meal, and Raw Egg Soup for another. I'm not even sure if I can safely share some of her "desserts". She could probably outdo Katie in a Toxic Cooking Competition if they made one! And I'M a JUDGE, Lyla! What am I supposed to do? I can't just back out on my duty just to save myself! They'll know something's up! I can't do that to her!"

Lyla thought for a moment, then sighed. "I'll... ask Doctor Alex to come back with some medicines to treat you Judges. I can't allow my husband, or anybody to die from careless food poisoning!"

"Why can't we just call it off? Find a convenient excuse or distraction to cancel the entire event?" Jack asked.

Both of them looked at Mayor Theodore in unison. They had a bad feeling about what he might do if the event were cancelled. From what they remembered, Mayor Theodore went ballistic the last time the Egg Festival almost got cancelled, ranting on about "commerce" and political junk, and threatening to close down Lyla's gift shop from his madness.

"Oh, right. The Mayor has issues" Jack uttered with an agitated stare.

"Just please hold on in the mean time, Darling. At the very least, it'll be heartfelt reunion with your old friend, right? Good luck!" Lyla said. With that, she left her husband with a soft peck on the lips and made her way to the bleachers. Jack's face turned bright red in response.

"Thank the Harvest Goddess... I really love that woman", Jack thought to himself in his brief moment of bliss.

"May I have your attention, please? Will every person NOT participating or not acting as judges please take a seat at the bleachers? The Harvest Chef Competition is about to begin!" Mayor Theodore announced from a microphone.

The spectators scrambled to get a decent seat for the show, while Jack gave a deep sigh, and looked anxiously at his wife.

"Lyla, please pray for my good health. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it past this day" he thought anxiously.

Ten minutes passed. The three designated judges already made it to their positions, and the Mayor is happily standing by a big lever. Not too far away, a shadowy figure awaited to make an appearance for the big event.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! It is now time for Flower Bud Village's First Annual Harvest Chef Competition!" Mayor Theodore cried.

The crowd gave a big cheer, while the three judges simply applauded.

"Before we meet our competitors, let us first turn our attention to the three Judges who will be trying their special dishes!"

The entire crowd turned their attention to the Judges' Table.

"In our first seat, you've known him for his professionals cooking advice on his TV show, you've certainly seen him trying the foods at our annual Harvest Festival, but if you were REALLY lucky, you might've seen him sometime hunting for truffles with his former pet pig. May I present to you... GOURMET!"

The audience applauded for a big fat man in a nice purple suit with a matching top hat. Not only was his stomach and face huge, but his lips as well. This may have further contributed to his quantity of eating consumption, and people were very afraid to bother asking if he was born with that big mouth. Despite his lack of outer charisma, people have come to respect him as an honorable taster of foods. Or maybe because cause he might be rich. There must be some reason he wears a suit, after all. In response, Gourmet simply waved cheerfully to the crowd.

"Next, you know him as Flower Bud Village's new farmer! His efforts have attracted some interesting businesses to our fair village, and he's even managed to hold his own against Resident Rancher Jamie in numerous competitions! No matter what, though, he'll always be #1 in the hearts of our villagers thanks to his selfless work for the village ! Please give it up to... JACK!"

The audience cried, cheered, screamed, and clapped with all their heart. In his days at Flower Bud Village, Jack had made friends with a whole lot of the villagers thanks to his uncanny social skills, and his willingness to help out others, even if he did have the occasional evil streak. Their response was of little surprise to anyone, especially Jack. The lovable farmer answered with a peace sign from his right hand, along with some sheepish laughter.

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" Jack thought to himself.

"Now then! On to our final Judge! We have no clue exactly where she hails from, but she's a well-known wanderer who makes it her priority to take a vacation here every summer! She loves tomatoes, appreciates ancient relics, and digs moonstones, too! You all know her well enough from her daily news report as the know-it-all Weather Girl! Here she is, right now... NAMI!"

The crowd roared and whistled as they turned their attention to a poker-faced young woman with short red hair, sporting a short-sleeved, blue checker shirt over a yellow top with some jean shorts completing her outfit. Some were astounded as how they managed to get this rare visitor to Judge this special cooking contest at a moment's notice, but few actually cared. She was highly respected by the intellectuals, amazingly friendly towards the shy individuals, and pretty popular amongst the guys. She wasn't exactly the sexiest woman in existence, but she was a cool, composed, mystery woman, and that type seems to catch the attention of some people. Nami gave a simple wave and assumed her position. The audience responded back with even harder cheering than before. Nami shrugged as a reaction.

"Okay! Now that you have all been acquainted with the Judges, it's time for the main event! Alright everybody... LET'S GET READY TO SIZZZZLLLEEEEEEEE!"

The anxious crowd cheered once more. They were wound up for the big event, expecting a really impressive live cooking show.

"Our Challenger for Tonight comes all the way from Mineral Town. Her interests consist of flirting, helping out with her parents, and most of all, wine! Everybody please give a round of a pause to our special guest... KAREN!"

The shadowy figure finally made her way to center stage. Nearly all the men stared as she came into clear view. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her long, brunette hair with two bleached bangs flowed beautifully in the wind. Her shining green eyes seemed to sparkle with the sun. Her great figure was clothed in a white sleeveless shirt underneath a purple collared vest. On the lower half, she wore a pair of jean shorts of her own, held up by a black belt. She also wore long with socks underneath some brown, laced shoes. Her seductive smile and casual wave really captivated the male audience, while a portion of the female audience looked forward in half awe, half jealousy.

Karen then turned to face the Judges' table and prepared to make a personal appeal to them, only to spot Jack in the middle. She then waved her arm nervously at her old friend and wore a more carefree smile. " HEY JACK! HOW ARE YOU! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D BE JUDGING THE COMPETITION!" she cried out in excitement.

Upon hearing this, Jack smacked his forehead directly onto the table. "I'm doomed, aren't I? No matter what kind of delicious cooking Carl can make, it will never compensate for the horror that is Karen... I'm doomed... that's it... I hope you can be strong for me, Lyla..." he thought.

Karen glared in confusion, but then she shrugged it off and made her way to a cooking station.

The audience remained loud and active until the Mayor quelled them down. Upon the silence, Ellen leapt out of her seat in the audience and made a mad dash towards the stage.

"Now.. for the moment you've all been waiting for! The villagers have chosen this special contender as our champion chef! I have the utmost confidence that our representative will give us an excellent show, but will Karen be able to make a worthy rival and stand up Flower Bud's personal cooking juggernaut? Ladies and Gentlemen, by popular decision, you've voted for him, tried his food, and now for the very first time he will loan his cooking expertise for a very special live performance! He is the undisputed King of Cookery, and Flower Bud Village's very own Harvest Chef... CAAA---'

But before Mayor Theodore could finish calling out the name, Ellen grabbed him to the side and whispered something in a dire tone. Mayor Theodore gave panicked cough, which was amplified through the sound system, then out of nowhere, he regained his composure.

"Well, folks. It seems like Our chosen Harvest Chef champion came down with a last minute cold, so he sent in a replacement so that the title can still be defended for the sake of our village"

The audience murmured amongst themselves, while Jack gagged. Nami turned to her fellow judge and gave him a curious look.

"Ummm... Jack? Do you understand what's going on?" she asked with little feeling in her voice.

"Oh, great... this can only mean one thing..." Jack groaned in thought.

Mayor Theodore pulled the lever right beside him, and a trap door slowly rose. "Please welcome Flower Bud Village's First Acting Harvest Chef... KATIE!"

The trapdoor finally rose, revealing the full view of their Replacement Champion. The childish apprentice chef had pretty red locks bundled in curls and decorated with black ribbon bows. She also wore a frilly black dress, completing a really girly appearance.

In her enthusiasm, Katie blew kisses to a completely silent crowd. "Thank you! Thank you for giving me this chance to prove my worth! I'll show you ALL that I'M the one who TRULY deserves the honors of HARVEST CHEF! YAY!" Katie cheered, but everyone was too dumbfounded to answer back.

The only sound that accompanied Katie's cheers was the constant banging of Jack's head upon the Judges' table. Katie ignored this, and continued her convoluted acceptance speech.

It was going to be a long day in Flower Bud Village...


	2. Character Commentary

**Chapter 2**

In one of the bedrooms behind the counter of Cafe Callaway, Carl watched the live broadcast of "Harvest Chef" with much anxiety. He was wearing one of those nifty "cold masks" that surgeons and doctors wear to prevent spreading his cold germs throughout the Cafe.

"Katie! hack cough It's up cough to you to defend the cooking cough reputation of our village! Please... cough take this contest seriously and cough put all your heart into it! I cough know you have the potential to be a great cough chef, but... I just wish you'd cough stick to the recipes!"

After a few more minutes of Katie's endless banter, Carl started to lose hope. "Who am I kidding? She... cough never listens. How am I supposed expect her cough to succeed in a cooking contest? She'll just go even crazier cough with her ideas and create even WORSE cough dishes! As the true chosen Harvest Chef of the village, I must cough defend Flowerbud's honor!"

With a fire in his eyes, Carl got out of his bed, determined to represent his new home in one of the most significant contests the village has ever known. Step by step, Carl began marching out of his bedroom, until he suddenly found himself taking a few steps back. Fatigue quickly overwhelmed him, and he found himself collapsed on his bed once more.

"...As soon as... cough I get some rest, first..."

And with that, Carl closed his eyes, leaving the Judge's fates in the hands of two really horrible chefs.

-----------------

Back at Flower Bud square, Karen began looking throughout some of the audience. Various thoughts filled her mind.

"Hmmm... waitaminute! Why's Doug here? He looks a little different, but... where's his daughter? Oh, there's Ann! But waitaminute... she looks a little, different. And who's that old guy with the bluish black hair sitting right next to her? Is that her boyfriend? But... he's... TOO old... but they seem to get along pretty well. And... that's Duke! He's here too! But what about his wife? Did he and Manna finally split up after all their fighting? I wonder if he's still running a vineyard? Maybe I can get some wine in this place! Alright, who's that guy with the flat top--- is that ZACK! No wait, I heard there's a bunch of packagers running around that look the same, so maybe there's an entire family of packagers that look exactly the same. And then... that girl bears a striking resemblance to May, and that boy right next to him... Stu? No, Elli's little brother looks much different than that. This boy actually looks cooler to me for some reason. Not quite the pest like Stu is, be he does seem to be the adventurous type. Okay, I also see Gray and Saibara in the audience, but something seems a little off about Gray, and... Saibara's actually calm and cheerful! What's up with that? Yeah, I'm confused... what happened to Mineral Town when I left?"

After Katie was done talking, the Mayor took center stage while Ellen went behind to get something.

"Alright, now that the two competitors have been introduced, the Harvest Chef competition is just about ready to begin!"

The crowd gave out a loud cheer. Katie looked upon the many villagers in awe as she clutched both her cheeks.

"Oh my adoring public!" she thought, "this is finally my moment to shine! Grandpa, you gave me so much hope as a little girl. I swear that as Harvest Chef, I will bring cooking honor to our family name in your honor!"

"So, uh... considering Katie got out everything she said with her speech, Karen, do you have anything to say to our audience?"

Karen lazily put and arm behind her head while she instinctively struck a sexy pose.

"Everyone! I'm glad to have made long journey here to represent Mineral Town in a cooking duel of the finest! I'll be giving my all to make sure I can make dishes tasty enough for every one of you eager eaters out there!"

The audience cheered with a fervor and excitement previously unmeasured by mankind, especially for a group as relatively small as them. After the crowd died down, people hushly spoke amongst themselves.

High in the bleachers, a disappointed Gwen sat amongst the crowd. This aspiring chef was quite the looker herself. Her blonde hair was fixed neatly into a ponytail with a few bangs sticking out on the forehead. She wore a short-sleeved jean jacket over a blank white t-shirt with matching jean shorts. She also wore some brown boots. Unlike the voluptuous Karen, Jack has little doubt of this girl's cooking skills. As the local Inn's cook, many have come to appreciate her fine quality of cooking. With her renown skills, some are still quite amazed as to how she could've lost out to the election so easily, but this talented girl felt that there was always room for improvement, and she did feel that Carl's abilities were just as exceptional. However, it wasn't exactly Carl's would-be title that bothered her right this minute.

"I don't get it. What the heck is going on here! I heard some things about the voting's, and I was the chef who came in second! What's Katie doing up there! I bet the only vote she received was from her self! If Carl came down with a sudden cold, shouldn't I be the alternate? I mean, at LEAST I can actually cook! I don't know what kind of talent our challenger has, but I just KNOW Katie's going to screw it up! I've seen people try her food on so many occasions, and where do they all end up? They don't even go to the bathroom, it's STRAIGHT to the HOSPITAL! She's not a chef, she's a germ warfare expert! I can't believe Carl was insane enough to go on with this! I know she's his only apprentice, and in that sense, she would be a fitting replacement, but the both of us know just exactly how horrible her cooking is! This attempt to preserve a legacy isn't worth the humiliation she's about to go through! Ugh! It should be ME cooking in front of this audience out there, ME!"

Unable to deal with the frustration in her mind, Gwen let out a big growl. "THIS ISN'T FAIR! UGH!" she shouted just before she pouted and folded her arms.

"Oh man, it would've been great if I were to judge Harvest Chef with Gwen and that new girl out there. I know just how good Gwen's cooking is by experience, but I wonder what this "Karen" can do? It must be some sort of blessing... hot, sexy chefs must be sprouting up everywhere!" an older looking man cried. He had a black, flat-top hairstyle while wearing a white muscle shirt.

"That's right! It's the dawn of a new age with beautiful chefs all around us! Not only can I get a fill on some grub, I can also get some fill on the ladies as well! It's the perfect combo, if you ask me!" A dark-skinned fellow garbed in Native-American clothing answered.

Hearing these comments, a nearby rancher with a blue UMD cap groaned in disgust. "I don't believe you guys. You're too busy drooling over women when you fail to realize the true point of our gathering. This is test of two participants who wish to fulfill their dreams. This is a SERIOUS occasion that we're watching, not some petty beauty contest".

A nearby army-clad carpenter man with upright brown spiky hair nodded in agreement. "Hot chefs or not, we're here to show our support." he added.

Right next to him, a man clothed in patriotic garments had a very cheerful grin on his face. "We're certainly in for a treat, though! That Karen chick is fine, but how about that Katie, huh? I'm practically ecstatic that Carl got replaced, if it meant bringing in that cute to the contest!" he commented.

Upon hearing this, every other audience member turned their attention to the patrotic young man with mixed emotions.

"What?"

Without the distractions of the crowd to bother him, Mayor Theodore went on with the introduction ceremony. "If you are familiar with these cooking contest, a changing theme is usually involved to keep things interesting in each segment. So we will proudly abide by this spectacular tradition! Very soon, my lovely assistant Ellen will come out this year to unveil Harvest Chef's first ever theme ingredient!"

Again, the crowd cheered in ample anticipation.

"Okay, Ellen... come on out!"

The cheerful farmer and homemaker rolled out a cloth-covered table, which formed a tall mountain shape underneath. Everybody's eyes were glued to the cloth of mystery, eagerly awaiting the start of the competition.

Ellen took out her own microphone from beneath the cloth. "Hello everybody! Ellen here! I'll be taking over the commentary from here, and I'll be joining the Judges for their opinions on the competition. With the main ingredient finally on the scene, the 1st Annual Flower Bud Village Harvest Chef Competition is ready to begin!"

Suddenly, the crowd simmered down, awaiting the announcement of the main ingredient.

"This year's theme will be..."

Ellen carefully reached for the cloth as the audience inhaled a deep breath.

"Cocoa!"

The entire crowd gasped as the table unveiled a huge mountain of Cocoa nuts stacked on top of eachother.

Ellen giggled. "This year's theme may very well take the form of delicious desserts, but will our contemplating cooks dare to go beyond the norms and wow us their creativity?"

Jack looked at the Cocoa mountain nervously. "I sure hope not. Tapping into their "creativities" could unleash foods that mankind was never meant to eat" he thought to himself.

After Ellen distributed an equal amount of Cocoa to both Katie and Karen's stations, the Mayor rose his right arm. "Are the contestants ready?" he called out.

Karen gave a simple nod with a determined look on her face, while Katie bobbed her head up and down vigorously with a delighted smile.

"ALRIGHT... CHEFS, YOU MAY BEGIN!" Mayor Theodore yelled as a a loud bell rang to announce the start of the competition.

Ellen immediately rushed to the Judges' table to get some early commentary from the Judges.

"Hello everybody, it's Ellen again! I'm right here at the Judges' table as they watch our two chefs in action! With me for the moment is Flower Bud Village's local hero, Jack! As we have seen earlier, you seem to be quite familiar with this year's challenger! So... how do you think newcomer Karen stacks up against our champion?" she asked enthusiastically.

"To be quite honest, I think their skills are just about even," he said with little feeling.

"You heard it, folks! It looks like we could be in for an interesting showdown!" Ellen cheered.

Jack slumped onto the Judges' table once more.

"Feh, "interesting" is right..." he spouted as the two competing chefs began their epic struggle.


	3. The Showdown

**Chapter 3**

With the various ingredients allowing endless possibilities, Katie and Karen's minds raced with inspiration. They grabbed whatever they could in their immediate vicinity.

Karen went to work by grinding up some Cocoa nut. After about producing a cup or two and putting it into a bowl, she turned on a heating surface for a put and poured some water in it. She then grabbed a bottle of milk, but then she paused with a worried look on her face. She then turned towards the stage with a more friendly face.

"Hey Judges," she shouted to the judges "Are any of you lactose in tolerate?"

Gourmet then snatched the microphone out of a startled Ellen's grasp. "In accordance to the Cooking Festival guidelines, it should be required that each judge have their background and allergies be reviewed, in order to assure they have the least amount of hindrances towards trying new foods. Hopefully, as Mayor of our fair burg, my other two associates here should be able to handle milk as well as I can"

Ellen then snatched back the microphone. "So then... any of you okay with milk?" she asked the other judges as she put the microphone close to Jack and Nami's relative speaking distance.

Nami gave a simple nod, while Jack got closer to the microphone.

"No, I'll be okay. I've been having my share of bovine-based calcium each morning thanks to the farm. Thanks for asking, though!" Jack managed to say in a cheerful voice.

"Okay, that's good! Thank you!" Karen shouted back. She then proceeded to pour a portion of milk and began brewing a creamy cocoa sauce.

On stage, Ellen brought back the microphone close to her own mouth. "Did you hear that folks? Our challenger shows concern for her Judges by inquiring about their potential health risks! Isn't that nice of her?"

The crowd cheered with much enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Katie witnessed this round of applause with some disgust.

"Humph, how dare Karen show me up with a nice and sweet act, when so many of them already go for her thanks to her... her 'looks'... GAH! I can't stand this! If she's supposed to be talented enough to challenge a Harvest Chef, she could be a triple threat against me! Well, luckily for me she wasted so much time making sure the judges' will be okay with milk, she's practically given me a time advantage! Well, I'm not going to waste my hour of cooking so recklessly like her! In fact, I'm going to outdo her in quantity as WELL as quality! HA!"

Katie took what appeared to be a gallon of Cocoa and water, then dumped it into a pot. She then took two tablespoons of milk and put it into the pot as well.

"No sense wasting. You only need so much milk to make it creamy" she said with great pride.

She then turned the surface temperature to the highest possible temperature.

"There's no point in being patient for a timed cooking contest, now is there? With the faster cooking job, I'll be SURE to get all my chosen dishes done in time! Now, while my pot makes my Cocoa sauce for the theme, I better make everything else!"

And with that, she left her pot alone as she went to gather other ingredients. Unfortunately, it wasn't too long when the pot started gurgling violently.

"Well, look at that! It seems that Katie isn't going to spare any Cocoa in order to fulfill the theme for this year! Although she may have been hasty with this unusual maneuver! Judges, do you have your own comment to make about this?" Ellen said into her microphone.

"Actually, that may be perfect if she intends to make some artistic decisions for the sake of presentation points! You have no idea how much chocolate it takes to make a beautiful sculpture! Actually, during my wandering, I've come across a few interesting Chocolate statues in the image of their creators during Valentine's Day. The receivers of these interesting works must be ecstatic, whether it be the beauty of the art, or the taste of the chocolate!" Gourmet remarked.

Jack glared at the bubbling pot with worry. "Isn't that overkill, though? I don't know how much more that pot can take."

Casually, Ellen moved on to the last Judge. "And, what are your thoughts, Nami?"

The antisocial wanderer simply shook her head.

"Well, we don't know what goes into the minds of these cooks, but hopefully they'll be able to pull through with something spectacular despite the constant pressure of time breathing down their necks!" Ellen cried.

Minutes passed, and Karen finished frying a breaded fish fillet after showing some remarkable fish flipping. She then looked back at the pot of simmering chocolate.

"Those fish-shaped pastries I tried before were delicious! I don't know how they managed to fill the insides of the fish with that tasty bean paste stuff, or what exactly happens to the meat. Whatever. I always wondered what those fish-pastry thingies tasted like with chocolate! Now's my chance to try it out!"

With some tongs, she took the breaded fish fillet and then smothered it in the Cocoa sauce pot. With her other hand, she grabbed a nearby plate, and after finishing covering the fillet, placed it onto the plate.

"Done!" she cried with certain joy of her new creation.

By the Judges' table, Ellen looked on with curiosity. "Chocolate... fish? Well, that's certainly new. I'm not certain about the taste of this unique concoction, but... but I'm sure we can trust the judgment of our aspiring chefs, right?"

Jack faced Ellen with a dubious expression. "Are you serious?" he thought to himself.

In Katie's station, her soft-boiled eggs were just about done while she was unaware of the bubbling cocoa sauce.

"Yay! The eggs are almost finished! Finally, I can begin my ultimate masterpiece!" she cried with joy.

Suddenly, the bubbling pot of sauce busted upward like an erupting volcano. Katie let out a panicked scream and scrambled for a huge bowl.

"No! My beautiful sauce! I can't let it go to waste! AAAH!" She paced back and forth with a huge bowl over her hand, trying to predict where the vast quantity of sauce would land.

"Ah! Over there!" she shouted as she rushed towards a shadow growing in size. Luckily for her, most of the sauce landed neatly into the pot, but because of it's relatively slow size, the rest of it plopped all over her face and clothes! She screamed and panicked as the mess continued to spread.

"Ah! It's everywhere! It's EVERYWHERE! NOOO!" she yelled as she ran around with bowl in hand, desperately trying to find a few washcloths to clean up everything.

Back at the Judges' table, Gourmet stood up and applauded in great approval. "Excellent show! Excellent show! Not only did Katie show excellent skill with that miraculous recovery, she showed that she's not afraid to get dirty for the sake of cooking! Brilliant!"

"Wow! What some may have considered to be a disappointing display turned out to garner strong approval from one of the Judges! Unbelievable!" Ellen cried in excitement!

"Nonsense! This is no disaster! This is art!" Gourmet proclaimed.

"I guess we'll be seeing a rise in score for style and presentation for our Representative Chef! What do the other judges have to say about this new development?" Ellen asked in amazement.

"N...no comment," Jack uttered.

"I've got nothing, too" Nami flatly chimed in.

"Well now, while one judge is clearly impressed by Katie's sudden incident, the other two are unmoved. Or were they just so amazed, that they're left completely speechless?" Ellen announced.

"YEAH! GO KATIE!" a voice from the crowd cheered.

Katie stopped her panicking as soon as she heard that all-too familiar voice. "...it's that obsessive stalker taking delight in my misfortune, isn't it?" she thought to herself.

Jack looked toward the crowd in disbelief. "Joe..." he groaned.

While all eyes where on Katie, Karen set her sights on the aging pot.

"Hmmm... I wonder..."

Karen then averted her eyes from the aging pot and towards a pile of grapes. Her smile widened at the new thought that occurred to her.

"Heheh... Jackpot!"

She chuckled to herself as she proceeded to go wild with "soda" production.

Time quickly elapsed as the two competitors were too "preoccupied" to continue their cooking.

"30 minutes remain!" Mayor Theodore announced.

"What an interesting show! Harvest Chef Katie had sacrificed some time from her spectacular show by cleaning her station, while Karen made wine after wine! I don't know how our Harvest Chef will recover from her recent loss, but I have a feeling the challenger must have an interesting strategy with all of that grape wine, unless I'm somehow mistake Ned!" Ellen announced.

Karen immediately got out of her obsessive production as soon as she heard this.

"Oh crap! The competition! I almost forgot!" Karen thought to herself as she scrambled to think of some more recipes.

"Hey, Ellen!" Jack called as he raised his hand.

"It seems that one of our judges has something to say!" Ellen cried.

"Yes I do. Since the drinks made from aging pots are clearly alcoholic, we do some people refer these drinks as "sodas?". I don't remember sodas making people sleepy, or resulting in making people pass out! Jack pointed out.

"Hmmm... that's a pretty good question. Why do some people call our wines "sodas"? Gourmet?" Ellen inquired.

Gourmet shook his big head. "No, sorry, I don't know"

"Uh... okay than, anybody in the audience?"

Nobody made any gesture that suggested they understood the reasoning behind this.

"Well, uh... fine. Let's just call those drinks wine from now on, okay?"

To the side, Nami watched everyone curiously.

"I think I might've come across another place that made apple wines before, but none that ever used very berries. I didn't even know very berry wines were even possible" Nami admitted.

"That's because Very Berries seem to be grown only in Flower Bud Village" Jack answered. "I never saw any of them around the city, nor did I see them during my short time in Mineral Town"

"Yes... now that I think of it, Flower Bud Village is the only place I ever see Very Berries grow during my travels" Nami added.

"It seems that two of the Judges are in deep discussion! While they're busy talking, I wonder just exactly how the two cooks intend to use the second half of their remaining time?" Ellen announced.

With Katie's station all cleaned up, she had a huge smile on her face as she giggled mischievously.

"Good... despite that last screw-up, I still have plenty of Cocoa sauce for my dishes! I guess it all worked out for me in the end, didn't it? Will all of this Cocoa, I'll be able to outdo that upstart Karen for sure!" she thought triumphantly as she gloated over her massive amount.

She then took the soft boiled eggs from earlier and eagerly dipped them into the sauce.

"Perfect! My first of numerous concoctions! Chocolate Eggs! If the people went crazy over a tasty chocolate shell with a creamy caramel sample, think of how they'll react to the genuine item! It's just plain brilliant!" Katie bragged in her mind.

She then put her chocolate eggs aside and took a handful of mushrooms.

"Hmm.. well, these things look close enough to what Carl uses for the recipe he calls "Chocolate Truffles", this should be good as well!"

With that thought, she just tossed in the mushrooms before grabbing a ladle, which she used to scoop up them all up. Her eyes then spotted the strawberry-like Cayenne.

"And of course, what's not to like about the tantalizing taste of some chocolate dipped strawberries!" she thought with a grin.

She carefully dipped a few Cayenne, one by one, into the pot so as not to accidentally get the top part completely cocoa-fied as well.

After what she considered a job well done, she smacked her lips, put one finger up, and with a completely composed expression, said, "Per-fection"

The patriotic carpenter named Joe let out a huge cheer as the others witnessed in curiosity.

"With all of that cocoa sauce amazingly preserved, Katie has gone into Cocoa-palooza! If she can continue this sudden streak, she may very well earn her place among the people as the first ever Official Harvest Chef!" Ellen announced.

"Personally, I think Katie's getting carried away", Jack grumbled.

Not one to miss news, Karen turned her attention to her enthusiastic opponent.

"Agh! No! My competition's gained an edge! I can't let my recent booze fest do me in! Think, Karen, think!"

To the side, Karen saw some pre-made pie dough, some breadfruit, a lot of cheese, a few ears of corn, and a wide assortment of jams. Karen's mind suddenly scintillated with inspiration.

"I got it! Time to turn this around!" Karen grinned as she got to work.

A whole lot more time passed as Karen and Katie poured their hearts into cooking.

"50 minutes have elapsed! Time is almost up!" Mayor Theodore cried.

"It's amazing! Simply amazing! In these last 20 minutes, our two competitors have REALLY picked up the pace! Our challenger Karen has worked to produce dish after dish, while Harvest Chef Katie put her Cocoa expertise to just about anything she had in mind! It's been a grueling cook off, but now it all comes down in these last few moments!" Ellen announced.

At this moment, Katie had dipped in a bunch of random items into the chocolate, and already arranged them in a most beautiful display.

Meanwhile, Karen had fixed herself some unusual mix of dishes herself, including a cheesy chocolate tortilla, some chocolate and jam sandwiches, and a rather unusual looking chocolate cheesecake.

Katie had a huge grin on her face. "Heh, my competition may have comported Cocoa into her cheesecake, it seems that everyone here neglected to notice the cake batter I prepared early in the game!"

Indeed they have. While the audience had their attention on the Judge's initial commentary, Katie was fixing up some cake batter long before she made her cocoa sauce.

"And with the cake almost finished, Karen won't know what hit her! Cocoa cake will be the perfect finishing dessert for a wonderful feast!" Katie gloated. She then let out triumphant laughter as her cake neared completion.

In the other station, Karen looked around frantically as she was left with about dozens of wine cups without any idea how to use one for the competition.

"I came so close, but I don't know how I'll be able to use any of this! If I can't even use just a bit of the wine, it'll all be for nothing! I might even get disqualified for the suspicions of using this competition as an excuse of drinking myself silly if I don't come up with something!" Karen panicked.

She then remembered the remaining portion of cocoa she had as it begun solidifying. Her eyes focused onto the wine, and then back on the cocoa. They continued to switch back and forth until another idea came to mind.

"Oh yes! This is brilliant! I remember Manna making it one time, and a lot of people loved them! I've gotta go for it!" she thought drastically.

In lightening speed, Karen grabbed the batch of remaining cocoa and formed a few cocoa balls with holes in them. She then took a funnel and carefully poured in a portion of wine in each.

At the same time, Katie's cake finally finished. She slowly removed it from the oven, placed it atop a table, and proceeded to dump her remaining cocoa all over the fresh new cake. Unfortunately, remnants of every single thing Katie dumped into the Cocoa sauce easily remained in the smell, creating an appeasement odor of which the aspiring chef simply disregarded.

"Simply beautiful!" Katie cried as she topped her "crowning achievement" with actual strawberries this time.

With Katie busy decorating her cake, Karen managed to complete a significant amount of her wine chocolates.

"This is just great!" Karen thought. "I'm just glad that this idea came to me at the moment! The combination of cocoa and wine will definitely please the judges! I may not like chocolate so much, but wine is definitely my specialty! Now to arrange them in a presentable manner!"

Karen went to work at stacking the chocolates into a pyramid formation as Katie had fun using icing do some artwork on her Cocoa cake.

As the two aspiring cooks finished fixing up their dishes for presentation, the bell rang again, announcing the end of the cooking portion of the competition.

"Time has expired! Will both competitors please turn off all cooking objects and prepare your dishes for service!" Mayor Theodore cried.

Carefully, the two chefs placed their dishes on nearby roll able carts. After that, they rolled their carts up to a slope right by the stage.

"It's been a wonderful display of skill and showmanship between these two compassionate cooks, but now their time is officially up. After overseeing the competition from this stage so high, the Judges will finally be treated to the amazing dishes made before their very eyes! Now, the question on everybody's mind must be: Who will be the first True Harvest Chef ever? Will it be Flower Bud Village's own Katie, who has arrived to redeem the reputation of her absent teacher, or will be it be newcomer Karen, who's come to prove her cooking prowess in a contest? Judging time is fast approaching, everybody! These three judges will soon determine the winner of Flower Bud Village's 1st ever Harvest Chef Competition!" Ellen announced most enthusiastically.

As the crowd gave yet another round of hollers and cheers in honor of the Judging portion of the competition, Jack looked at the upcoming dishes with a feeling of lost hope.

"And now it's Judgment time" Jack groaned to himself.

He had his personal doubts on just how the Harvest Chef competition will conclude, as well as the future of his own health.


	4. Brief Break

**Chapter 4**

For some reason, the Judges had the luck of having the competition held for a brief break. Most of the audience had to use restrooms after the exciting hour of cooking, along with Mayor Theodore. The few people left in the Square included Jack and Nami of the Judges, the two competing chefs, and Joe.

While Nami remained stationed at her chair, Jack and Karen took this opportunity to get reacquainted, while Joe and Katie were in a dispute, sort of.

"So, that guy in the blue "USI" hat isn't Gray? Then, what about that woman that shared a strong resemblance to Ann, and all mysterious look-alikes?" Karen asked.

Jack shrugged. "I don't get some of it, but our antisocial farmer is named Blue, and Ann the inventor seems to know nothing of her Mineral Town counterpart. The Doug of this village is actually going by a coincidental nickname, and the Saibara of this town is going by his last name. However, whenever I mention the name "Manna" around our Duke, he flinches and never bothers to answer any questions. This place shares a whole lot of coincidences with Mineral Town, but I'm must suspicious with the old bartender. I tried to pry some information about this from his niece Eve, but she's as tight-lipped as ever."

Karen grinned. "I guess I can figure things out when I get back to Mineral Town. If I send a letter saying that Duke is missing, then whatever's going on here should become pretty obvious"

Looking back at the table carts, Jack gave a long sigh. "Karen, as your childhood friend, I'm thankful to see out again, but there's something really important I have to say to you..."

Karen gave her old friend a funny look. "What? Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere in your relationship with Lyla! Considering the letters you've sent, and the way I see her treating you, the two of you seem perfectly happy! I'm not going to mess with---"

"No, no! Not that! But thanks for understanding, anyway!"

"Oh, sure! Congratulations, Jack!"

Realizing his folly, Jack smacked his head. To make sure Karen was paying attention; the farmer gripped Karen's arms tightly, ensured clear eye contact, and shook her.

"Karen... Please, just quit, right now! I know how you cook! I saw what you made! I apologize for saying this, but your cooking has been and will always be a danger to the human race! Just spare yourself this utter disgrace and just drop out! Katie's too stubborn to quit, but she'll be too busy gloating in cheer to force us to eat HER horrible cooking!" Jack insisted.

"No! I've gotta do this! And if you say that Katie is supposed to be a horrible cook as well, I may actually have a chance! People have a hard time believing this, but I've always wanted to at least be a great cook! I know many people think I'm hot, and I know I've crushed other women's dreams as I've showcased my high caliber singing ability, but none of that will serve me well in the long run if I am to be a true contributing member to society and whatnot! So I chose to get better at cooking so that one day... I may actually be a good wife to someone!" Karen exclaimed.

Jack gave Karen a blank stare.

"Ah... you realize how vane and evil you just sounded?" Jack asked.

Karen managed to hold back her ample tears of guilt from Jack's remark.

"Anyway... you don't happen to be learning to cook for Kai's sake, are you? He's a terrific cook in his own right, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind making you his food, especially if you two happen to get together in the future!"

Karen shook her head. "No, it's not for him. I recently fell for the new farmer that arrived at the deserted farm last Spring. He's your distant cousin, Sack!"

"Sack, huh? He kinda looks like me, but has blonde hair and wears green, right?" Jack asked.

"Yes, that very Sack! He's very handsome and charming, but he's also the straightforward and honest type! There's something about seeing him with his fluffy sheep that adds to his charm, somehow" Karen squealed.

Jack grinned. "That makes sense. Sack was always the more innocent one, while people have been intimidated by my "man of a thousand secrets" routine. It's tough being the village confidant, but you certainly learn a lot."

"So then, do you understand what I must do?" Karen asked, managing to get down the sad puppy-eye look perfectly.

Jack was perplexed that she'd even resort to that tactic. "Ah... Sack will be fine. He won't mind if your cooking is terrible. He'll be okay cooking for himself. Besides, one terrible Chef is bad enough. I don't wanna die by obligated food poisoning, Karen! I'm at the prime of my life! I have a loving wife who'll stay by my side through thick and thin! I can't just abandon them because I HAD to eat dangerous food!"

Karen sighed. "I see... you have little faith in my abilities, AND you disregard my dreams entirely... I thought you were my friend."

The disheartened aspiring chef had a forlorn look in her eyes, which sparkled from the suspended tears.

Jack was left speechless. With all the factors against him, he really couldn't argue against that, even if the price might end up being his own life. He had not interest in being the valiant hero of the story, but he felt a strong obligation to his friends, especially if it happens to be Karen.

" ...Lyla requested that the Doctor bring some medicine just in case. Just please pray for the Judges' good healths" Jack insisted.

Karen cheered enthusiastically in response.

On the other end of the stage, Katie and Joe tried to work out issues amongst each other, or at least Katie was. Joe was being whipped by a woman who barely showed any interest in him.

"I refuse to disgrace myself by bowing out! I won't! Carl's counting on me! Grandpa's counting on me! I'M counting on me! This is part of my dream, and I won't ever give it up, understand! This is a chance I can't give up! So many will finally have a chance to know Katie's cooking! Their recognition could do wonders for my reputation!" Katie violently shouted.

"I'm not saying you're a bad cook, Katie! I'm expressing my concern for you! I know your cooking! I know your potential! Just please don't humiliate yourself... you can be better than this! Don't let THIS be the impression that lasts to the people! It'll be disasterous for you!" Joe pleaded on his knees.

"No! I will not! Now let the contest commence! The world must know of my talent! Here, try this food, and I DARE you to tell me it's awful!" she demanded.

Katie shoved a plate of chocolate coat randoms. Joe took one in the shape of a mushroom and chewed slowly and steadily. After many chews, he swallowed hard. He managed a pecular smile and gave a thumbs as a sign of approval.

"Mmmm... delicious! You're right! How could I doubt your cooking?" Joe said in an excited, yet dubious tone.

"Ha! Even a stalker can't disprove my cooking! Especially one that takes unusual joys in the thoughts of my downfall!" Katie proudly gloated.

Joe scratched his head at her last comment.

Meanwhile, Nami coolly observed the stage with little feeling in her face. After managing to convince Jack into keeping the contest running, Karen decided to join her for a brief talk.

"Hey, Nami! It's been a while since we've seen each other as well, huh? I saw the other day you became weather girl. I hope you don't mind being in front of the camera so often", Karen called out.

"It's not so bad. You get used to it, eventually" Nami admitted.

"By the way, Cliff and Kai say hi. They've been wondering what you've been up to lately, especially when they found out about your now job" Karen said.

"Hmmm... those two. I remember them. I ended up using Kai's services on occasion, and it's been awhile since Cliff stopped being my traveling companion and took residence in Mineral Town. This... is kinda hard to admit to anybody... but I actually missed those old times we traveled together" Nami said.

Karen looked at the composed red head in curiosity. "Wha... so.. did you, have a crush on him or something? I didn't picture you being attached to someone like Cliff. The two of you don't seem all that alike and compatible"

Nami actually felt she had a LOT in common with Cliff, besides all that traveling, but this was something she wasn't ready to say to anyone, especially when Cliff's softer side is much more apparent to others than Nami. Whether or not she loves him, however, is another matter entirely.

"I don't. We just had a lot of interesting adventures when we were on the road together. Everything seemed less exciting when Cliff decided to stay at the Winery, and his little habit somehow stuck with me. You know that before I got the Weather Girl job, I actually stayed a place called Forget-Me-Not Valley for nearly an entire year? Some of the people bugged me at that place, especially a screwed up scientist, but I actually found family in Ruby and Tim at the inn. They were... nice enough. Some chick named Celia, too. She would always come to the inn and bring me some of her top quality produce from the farm, like Jack from this village, except she wasn't shady like the boy farmer was."

"What about me?" a familiar voice cried out.

"Oh... hello again, Jack" Nami answered.

"That was quite a long back story you had there. I didn't know about any of this, especially your travels with Cliff. Would you like to share any more about that?" he questioned with a curious smile.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke out to answer.

"I don't feel like it. Maybe another time" Nami suggested.

Karen reacted with a bright smile. "You know..." Karen announced in a sly tone, "Cliff told me about a certain adventure log that the two of kept together. I know she still has it, but Cliff also told me about what kind of location she would hide it as well"

Nami looked at Karen in disbelief. "Now I understand where Jack got his street-smarts. I should've known," she thought to herself. She then looked at a nearby clock and turned to the two childhood friends.

"Fine, I'll share some of our journey together, just don't ask about any further details, got it?" Nami demanded.

Both Jack and Karen gave a silent nod.

"Good" Nami snapped in annoyance. There was just some things Nami recorded in her journey log that she proffered that it not become common knowledge.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the Square, a mysterious figure appeared, with an equally mysteries object in his hand. Stealthily, it crept around the environment in order to fufill its possibly sinister objective.

Moments later, everybody returned to the Square. The audience eagerly awaited the Judges' evaluation as Karen and Katie stood by anxiously.

"Here we go for REAL this time..." Jack groaned to himself. He personally appreciated the break that delayed his unfortunate fate.

_Author's Notes: I apologize for delaying the finale, but I really wanted to get these last minute comments in, and I thought that a sudden break would be the perfect excuse. Honestly, having a member of the audience and one of the Judges suddenly leap out of their seats just to warn the two cooks felt weird. And, how would I get Nami in on the action in the pre-judging? Finally who could that mysterious figure possibly be? That's a good question!_


	5. The True Harvest Chef

**Chapter 5**

"Hello again, everybody! I apologize for that previously unannounced break from before, but we're all back and ready to end this thing! That's right! At this moment, our challenger Karen is rolling in her dishes in order to be analyzed by our three judges! How will she do in the face of their opinions? Will she set the standard by which our Harvest Chef must exceed to retain her title, or will she pave her opponent's path to a clear victory? We're about to find out!" Ellen cried.

Ellen's excitement seems to be extremely contagious, as she got most of the crowd on their feet while cheering their hearts out. Most of them were actually quite aware of Katie's atrocious cooking, but the anticipation still got to them. It may have been the fact that Karen just happened to be quite a looker, or it could also have been that most of them are completely ignorant of Karen's cooking "talent". What had really got them going may have been the heart and determination that both competitors displayed during their time on stage. Whatever the case, the Judging portion has clearly got the crowd going.

"I'm not sure if this system is all that good. Even when considering this year's circumstances, wouldn't it make more sense for us to try the Harvest Chef's cooking first? They probably should be the ones to set that standard to beat, since they're the hometown cook. Or maybe, we could switch each year of whose food the Judges tries first, so it would be more fair?" Jack proposed.

Nami nodded. "That idea doesn't sound half bad, actually"

"Nonsense! In competitions such as these, it is tradition to ty the Challenger's food, first! The challenger's quality of cooking must be the very first taste that the Judges experience. Then Harvest Chef then must be the one who must rise to the challenge and try to overcome the quality presented by the challenger! For the Challenger to set that standard would give them the sight edge they need over the hometown's personal juggernaut! Do you now understand?" Gourmet blathered.

Nami and Jack gave their fellow Judge a blank stare.

"First up for her trial is the challenger from Mineral Town, Karen! You may now present your meal!" Mayor Theodore announced.

With a courteous smile, Karen parked her dish cart right by the Judges' table.

"Alright, guys! I gave it everything I got when putting these dishes together! Please enjoy them!" Karen cheerfully announced.

"Karen was really busy with the time she was given! She has an amazing variety of foods to serve our Judges! On her table are some interesting looking tortillas and sandwiches. That cheesecake simply looks scrumptious! And it seems she even went gourmet with some surprise chocolate balls! While everything else was neatly stacked and arranged in a presentable manner, she also prepared a stunning chocolate chicken! She really brought out the artist in her with this food display!" Ellen commented.

The Judges first tried the sandwiches.

Gourmet had a curious look on his face. "Ah yes, the sandwich. Interesting choice to make in a cooking competition. We've rarely seen foods like these in professional competitions, and for good reason. Rarely has anyone prepared a sandwich of a high enough caliber for a Judge to consider it true cuisine. It's tough to make such a sandwich, but if she can accomplish such a nearly impossible feat, we could have a new five-star chef on the horizon!"

After the three judges took their own sandwich, they all took a bit simultaneously, with Gourmet taking the most out of his.

Both Gourmet and Jack spit and out and gagged at their initial taste, while Nami continued to carefully chew her bite.

"W-what is this! I'm never tasted a Jam of this kind before! It's preposterous! I doubt this flavor was even meant to be a jam!" Gourmet cried out dramatically.

"It's... it's Tomatoes! How the heck did she make Tomato Jam!" Jack complained.

"Hmmm... it's an interesting dare, I admit. While the tomato aspect actually intrigued me, it just does not work as a Jam. Neither does the taste complement the chocolate here. A more complementing flavor like strawberry would've been a better choice, or even something like Marmalade would've provided a point of interest. I find the concept interesting, though" Nami coolly criticized.

Jack looked at Nami curiously. "Wow... she really does know her food" he thought to himself, impressed at her analysis.

Next to be distributed was the tortillas, which the Judges didn't appear too thrilled to try. Again, they took their bites and began tasting.

Gourmet was coughing up this next concoction of Karen's. "OOh... Ugh... Ack! This combination is atrocious!"

Jack managed to swallow his share, but it left him with a funny look in his eyes. "Chocolate in this tortilla? Blending with the cheese... ugghh. Not only that, but there was ground fish, some peppers, and a bunch of different color herbs! This could wake me up in a moment's notice with one bite, but... this is much worse than any medicine I've ever had!"

Again, Nami appeared unmoved by the taste. "I'm disappointed... I feel that the Cocoa could've been used cleverly as part of a tortilla sauce, but it was just carelessly thrown into the tortilla, with a questionable mix of foods to add. You also had the option of making a dessert tortilla here. Even it ended up being a dessert menu, quality should always be given higher priority above giving the Judges a full course meal"

Karen sighed. With the first two foods in shambles, she felt her chances dwindling already, but she still had hope.

Next came the cheesecake, which actually looked quite normal.

"Hey, now! This doesn't look half bad!" Jack grinned.

"Indeed. An excellent appearance usually accompanies a quality taste!" Gourmet cried.

"And yet, by my experience, I haven't had the joy to confirm this belief so much. Still, it is a comfort to look forward to" Nami confessed.

All three took their bites into the cheesecake, with some indication of surprise with their reaction.

"The taste... is all wrong!" Gourmet chocked.

"Uggggh... is this melted cheddar and mozzarella!" Jack groaned.

Nami gave a deep sign. "This tastes like chocolate pizza without the sauce" she remarked.

With this last mistake, Karen laughed nervously. "I guess... I should've looked more carefully at how to make the propper kind of cheese, huh? This just sucks! And the cheesecakes actually looked normal" she thought to herself.

Karen then served her finely crafted chocolate chicken.

"Ah... beautiful! A fine work of art! The shape and proportions are about as ideal as someone can get with a chocolate chicken!" Gourmet praised.

"And now, we have to taste this thing..." Jack sighed.

"Yeah. What really got my attention is that I noticed the challenger gave us a stuffing surprise. I've been wondering what it was for quite a while now. I just hope that the surprise is pleasant", Nami noted.

Karen laughed nervously. "Okay... I don't know how much more they could possibly take" she thought.

Gourmet took a part of the comb, while Jack chipped off the beak. Nami also decided to go for a portion of the comb.

All noticed a white filling ooze from the chocolate chicken.

"OOh... a creamy white filling! This should be a treat indeed!" Gourmet cried.

"We'll soon see," Nami said.

Once more, the three of the took a bite from their chosen portions.

The horror on Gourmet's face left him speechless.

"Wha- Mayonnaise! In overcooked chocolate? Not only is all of this deception becoming very disgusting, it's also getting redundant! This is... yick!" Jack cried.

"What a shame... I actually appreciated the artistry you put into this chicken, yet the contents were chosen carelessly... I've seen so many interesting ideas so far, but they've all gone to waste. I don't know how much more of this I can take" Nami sighed.

With all of her failures thus far, Karen got on her knees and silently pleaded in her mind. "PLEASE LET THE WINE BALLS BE GOOD! PLEASE LET THE WINE BALLS BE GOOD!"

Finally, Karen's chocolate balls were served last. At this point, the Judges were extremely hesitant to try it.

Willing to face his fate sooner, Jack was the first to observe the chocolate. He smelled his personal chocolate ball first, and picked up an interesting odor. "Well, at least the chocolate smells good. Whatever's inside seems decent, too. At least it has its good points. Here I go..."

And with that, Jack plopped the chocolate into his mouth. He kept the thing in there, expecting any kind of taste to fill his senses. After he finished chewing, he gave one big gulp as he swallowed. The experience left a shocked expression on his face.

"Jack... are you... alright?" Nami asked in a surprisingly soft tone.

"Unfortunately for the challenger, actual food poisoning will result in disqualification, and possibly even arrest," Gourmet added.

Everyone in the audience looked upon the frozen expression on Jack's face, awaiting the next moment. At the most, they were expecting the poor Judge the pass out from something horrible.

Suddenly, the uneasy atmosphere was broken by Jack's widened smile. He then raised his arms slightly and clenched both of his hands into fists. He then took a big deep breath.

"AWW MAN! THIS IS SWEET! AND I'M NOT DRUNK!" Jack shouted in joy. Indeed, the happy farmer was still in sober condition, as his cheeks lacked the redness from one under the influence.

Nami looked at him funny. "Uh... Jack, it's extremely hard to get drunk after one alcoholic chocolate. I don't even understand why you just said that"

"Just try it, Nami!" Jack insisted.

Nami shrugged, but Gourmet beat her to the punch.

"Mmmm... absolutely delicious! Not only is this a refresher from the recent run of dishes, this is actually one of the best chocolates I've ever had! Unbelievable!" the purple-suited man cried.

Nami carefully chewed her own chocolate, and swallowed normally. "... I see. This IS impressive. I guess our challenger finally got it together when she made this. Nice job! I consider this one major step towards the right direction!"

Karen gasped. The crowd gasped. The Judges decided to try just a few more chocolates for verification. Jack gave a thumbs up for approval as Nami nodded in satisfactory. Then Gourmet applauded the challenger for her fine work.

The audience gave a standing ovation at that moment.

Karen looked at the excitement all around her and slowly let it all sink in." It was delicious... it was actually delicious! I'm actually still in the running! Yay!"

In response, the sexy chef's face turned bright red as she respectfully bowed out.

Jack had an indifferent look on his face, considering what was coming next.

"I'm impressed at Karen's sudden comeback in the end, but now we all have Katie's cooking to deal with. I don't like the odds of our enjoyment here. I guess... this is Karen's match, unless a miracle happened" he thought to himself.

"Amazing! After so many letdowns for the Judges, Karen wows them with her nicely made chocolate wine balls! I don't know how much the previous dishes will cost her in the long run, but at least she gained her footing with that last creation! Hmm... the Judges up there look so pleased with the chocolate wine balls, I think I want to try one for myself!" Ellen announced.

After trying his own chocolate in satisfaction, Mayor Theodore got ready to make his official announcement. "Challenger Karen, you may back down now. Harvest Chef Katie, please present your meal!"

As Karen moved her table cart out of the way, Katie rolled hers in with an utterly confident grin.

"Hmph! Only ONE impressive dish! JUST ONE! This match is mine" Katie grinned.

"Our proud representative, Harvest Chef Katie arrives with only two dishes: an assortment of chocolate dipped products and one scrumptious looking chocolate cake! Because our challenger was unable to satisfy with all of her dishes, the Harvest Chef's two items may just be enough to win her the first competition! One question on everybody's mine is, just exactly what did Katie dip into her chocolate batch? So many assorted shapes are beautifully displayed on her plate. Which ones will prove to be the tastiest of them all?" Ellen cried.

Katie confidently served her plate to the Judges. Gourmet first spotted the mushroom shaped chocolates and had a delightful look on his face.

"Ah yes! Chocolate truffles! A true gourmet's delight! I must express how rare it is to be treated to such a fine food! A Cocoa theme was bound to result in this kind of choice by at least one of the contestants! The only thought in my mind is exactly how our representing chef went about in making this!" Gourmet bragged.

The three judges then took a bite of a mushroom-shaped chocolate.

Gourmet immediately spat out his bite with an outraged look.

"This isn't a truffle... just an average, everyday fungi of a mushroom you can find almost anywhere" Jack remarked after nibbling on his chocolate mushroom. "Not an ideal combination at all"

"This kind of choice was even more careless than the challenger's! I can't believe someone would actually be capable of making this kind of mistake! Chocolate mushrooms? Did she even LOOK at what she put in the chocolate? This is way below an amateur level screw up!" Nami scoffed.

Katie made a fist with her right hand. "Those cursed Judges... thinking they're so high and mighty!" she growled in her mind. "They just don't understand TRUE cooking when they taste it!"

The three Judges then noticed some strawberry-shaped chocolates. Jack and Nami sensed danger from them and coolly avoided them altogether; however, Gourmet couldn't resist the idea of eating some chocolate-dipped strawberries. He carelessly dropped one in his mouth, then...

"AAAGHH! SPICY! HOT!" the purple-clad connoisseur shouted as flames bursted out of his mouth.

"Yep, it figures..." Jack groaned. In his entire experience of getting to know Katie, she ALWAYS mistaken Cayenne for strawberries, which has lead to the ruin of so many potential treats. He felt a little sorry for how only one mistake of Katie's completely destroys the intended recipe. He felt even more sorry for Carl, who helplessly watched his apprentice's screw-up in bed with a cold.

"Well now, THIS shape is different. I guess it's worth a try" Nami said as she took a leaf-shaped chocolate.

"Uhh... I don't normally like this kind of thing. Sorry if I hold it against the cook, so I'll try and go about the critique without discrimination" Jack admitted as he took a similarly- shaped chocolate.

"Hmm... I think I know what this might be" Gourmet exhaled after he chugged a gallon of water from a nearby source. "It might help neutralize... the spiciness... of the Chocolate Cayenne"

With chocolate leaves in hand, the three crunched their treats simultaneously. Immediately, Jack and Gourmet had an unpleasant look on their faces.

"Ugh! Not helpful! Not refreshing at all!" Gourmet moaned.

" 'B-bitter mint chocolate?' Yuck!" Jack cried as he continually spat out saliva to remove the lasting bitter taste from his mouth.

"The contestant used unripe purple herbs. I didn't even know they were usable in recipes. Still, the Harvest Chef could've at least check what kind of herbal leaf it was! This is embarrassing... a green herb leaf would've been good, but instead we have some bitter chocolate wafers! I don't believe this!" Nami groaned.

After having the unfortunate experience of tasting even more random chocolate foods, such as chocolate soft-boiled eggs, chocolate carrots, and even chocolate shrimp, the Judges were just about done dealing with the surprises the Harvest Chef provided.

"There's... one... more.. Shape" Jack groaned. "Maybe... it's chocolate potatoes..."

"There's only one way to find out", Nami responded. She then took a bit out of the wedge-shaped chocolate, only to be faced by a refreshingly sweet tasted.

"Well, what d'ya know? After so many misses, she actually hits with chocolate-covered oranges. I commend your one decent choice out of all the others, but as I stressed earlier, cooks shouldn't be so reckless, even with a time limit. The way the chocolate taste complements thr orange here is amazing, though. The chocolate's texture is still soft as well! A fine combo!" Nami admitted.

Gourmet then threw a chocolate wedge in his mouth and noisily chewed the thing. "De-li-cious! It's like a chocolate filled with marmalade, only in its more natural state! A true example of sweet-making at its finest!"

Jack then got in on the action and tried some for himself. "Hmmm... I admit, it's okay. I kinda wish she used actual strawberries instead of Cayenne, so this'll suffice for me"

Katie then gave a deadly glare at Jack's criticism, which Jack happily obliged with an equally threatening glare.

Katie took a deep breath to relieve her stress. "Darn you, Jack! There's something almost one-sided about this arrangement! I know how much Jack despises me, and to make it worse, the contestant is an old acquaintance of his! He'll almost certainly try to drive the decision towards HER favor! It's kind of disgusting that she'd actually NEED that advantage to make this a fair competition. After all, we just saw how much of a worthless cook she is compared to me! I doubt even Jack's influence will be able to sway the vote with what she did to them! HA! TAKE THAT KAREN! AND YOU TOO, JACK!"

Jack himself looked off to the side with a disgusted look on his face. "Crazy girl... if only Carl were well, or if the Mayor were sane enough to allow Gwen to replace him, this competition would be able to save face, a little. The only high-praise dish thus far is Karen's last-minute wine chocolates. I FEAR the cake... she may try to shove the thing down my throat one day as poisoning if I anger her to a certain point!"

After the first plate was sampled, Katie proudly served her crowning achievement: the giant Cocoa cake. Both Katie and Jack took a brief glance at the thing, and sensed something off at the exact same time.

"Waitaminute... the cake doesn't reek like from before... how'd the mixed assortment of smells go away so fast?" Jack thought to himself.

Katie, however, ignored this completely. "Okay! Time to wow them with my culinary skills! No assorted treats to deal with, this time!"

The audience was in awe as the cake was placed neatly on the Judges' table. It appeared to be a tower of cocoa, and looked good enough to eat. Whether or not the last statement was true however, has of yet to be determined.

Harvest Chef Katie, brimming with positive energy, took a cake knife and neatly cut some triangle pieces of out the towering dessert .

"This is... brilliance! Sheer brilliance! Our lovely Harvest Chef has clearly put her heart into this skyscraper of a cake! I wonder just exactly what it is she had in mind as she crafted this beauty!" Gourmet cried to the heavens.

Jack noticed that some parts of the cake appears creamier than others. "Well now, she got creative with this cake. I just hope... she didn't manage to cook this thing unevenly" he gulped.

Finally, the three judges prepared their final taste of the competition. They all took a portion of their piece with forks, and immediately took a bite.

"I am also pleased to mention that I added some mashed strawberry directly into the batter itself!" Katie cried.

Jack swallowed fast upon hearing this. To his surprise, his mouth didn't react with a burning sensation.

After tasting it, Jack had an unusual expression on his face. "Impossible... this cake... it's... it's"

"It's exquisite!" Gourmet chimed in.

"It's way beyond delicious. It's cake among cakes! I can't believe somebody so careless could make something of this caliber! The ingredients were clearly mixed with care and precision! The cake in itself is an ultimate compliment" Nami said with a strong feeling in her voice.

"It's almost like an ice cream! This is awesome! What is this creamy stuff, anyway?" Jack asked.

Katie gave a triumphant laughter. "I don't exactly remember how I put that entire cake together, but I'm glad I made it with my instincts! With my natural cooking abilities, I've crafted true cooking art!" she boasted in her mind.

"That is a secret! But what I can tell you is that's a cream of the heavens!" Katie bragged, trying to sound extremely professional.

The crowd roared at the Judges' approvals. Some of their mouths even watered with the sight of the beautiful cake they saw before them. Amongst this same crowd, a lone patriotic carpenter brimmed ecstatically.

"YEAH, KATIE! SHOW THEM YOU'RE THE HARVEST CHEF!" he shouted at the loudest possible volume.

Katie was too busy letting the crowd build her up as a whole to hear Joe's individual shout out. She simply waved and looked back with a charming smile.

"Like I said: This match is mine" she arrogantly thought to herself.

After taking a few bites of his cake, Jack glared at the Harvest Chef with a tired look in his eyes. "Unbelievable..." he groaned to himself. He then looked back at his piece of cake, taking some time to think to himself. A sudden thought struck him, but he decided to keep quiet for his own reasons.

"Alright! The judges will now take a moment to themselves to discuss the outcome of the 1st Annual Flower Bud Harvest Chef Competition! Will the Judges please meet behind the stage for their decision, and will the audience and cooks please refrain from joining in and disrupting them by staying put? They should be able to come up with their final decision in a few minutes!" Mayor Theodore announced.

Gourmet, Jack, and Nami then headed off the stage and behind to talk amongst themselves, while the crowd was busy doing the same.

"So, everybody! What do you think? The outcome is fast approaching, and the two cooks managed to deliver some spectacular dishes... after making a few mishaps. So, which food will ultimately win over the Judges in the end: Karen's sweet and sophisticated chocolate wine balls, or Katie's lovely Cocoa? There can only be one winner when all is said and done! Just who is it that will come out on top with the 1st ever crowning of Harvest Chef? We're about to find out!" Ellen announced with great fervor.

After a chunk of time passed, the three Judges returned to their table to make their decision.

"Alright, Judges! You may go ahead and announce the winner of Flower Bud Village's 1st Annual Harvest Chef competition!" Mayor Theodore shouted.

The Square suddenly grew silent. The audience were glued to the bleachers, unable to utter another a word in anticipation.

"This is it, everyone! The competition comes down to this one finaly decision!" Ellen softly said in her mike.

Gourmet then gave a cough. "Ladies and Gentleman, Karen and Katie, I would just like to say that I am proud of this wonderful turnout! These two hopeful chefs have demonstrated their love and dedication to the cause, and despite some... ahem... unfortunate circumstances that occurred, I am proud have tasted their best efforts. With their final dishes, it ended up becoming a pretty close decision" Gourmet confessed.

"Enough with the commentary! Tell us who won!" a little boy's voice screamed from the bleachers.

"Fair enough" Gourmet responded.

Jack then took over announcement duties. "Well, after much deliberation, the three of us came to a decisive choice. The first ever Harvest Chef Competition Champion is..."

The Mayor, Karen and Katie, the entire crowd, even Ellen herself held their breath at the suspense.

"... Congratulations, Katie! Your cake really won over the judges this time!"

The crowd roared once again.

Katie jumped up and down with the greatest joy in her heart, while Karen gave a disappointed sigh.

Jack looked up into the sky with narrowed eyes. "There's only one way this could be possible", he thought to himself.

"Well, there you have it, folks! Even though she came in as a replacement for the original champion, the first ever victor of Flower Bud's Harvest Chef Competition is our very own Katie! Congratulations! You've definitely earned your worthy title as a chef among chefs!" Ellen cried.

Out of nowhere, Joe rushed the stage to join Katie in celebration.

"You did it! You won the competition and won the admiration of everyone! Congratulations!" the America-clad carpenter cheered.

"Carl! Grandpa! I won! And it's all thanks to the love of cooking I posses! Yay!" Katie smiled.

The True Harvest Chef was unaware that she was practically dancing along with Joe in jubilation. She grabbed onto his arms and they had some fun going overboard with celebration, until she finally came back to reality.

"AGGH! STALKER!" Katie shrieked. She then beat poor Joe upside the head with a strong right hook, leaving him collapsed on the floor.

"B-but Katie... you... and I... I know I tried to take you out of the running at first, but then I supported you the rest of the way! Can't... can't you see me in a better light because of that? I'll be willing to support you through the most impossible of odds, if you feel that confident in yourself! Don't you see?" Joe pleaded.

Unfortunately, his voice of reason awarded him with a projectile pan to the face.

"No! I don't trust stalkers until they PROVE that they've changed their ways! And it isn't so easy to change MY mind!" Katie fumed.

Joe gave a hopeless sigh. "My Katie... she's so stubborn and outspoken for one of her innocent appearance... but that's exactly what I love about her... I am but a fool in love" he thought to himself as he looked upon his "beloved" with wonder.

Meanwhile, Jack and Nami remained in their seats, witnessing the spectacle all around them.

"This is all dubious... so very dubious" Jack sighed.

"Is that so?" Nami interjected. "I knew you agreed that the cake was really good and everything, but you still looked very uneasy at giving Katie the win. You know something about all of this, don't you? Now that we determined the winner and all, is it still worth bringing it up?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah... Katie's the Harvest Chef now. It doesn't matter any more at this point. Despite, if I had somehow sway the decision to be Karen's win, Katie would suspect me and most likely threaten to make my life miserable for being a conspiring cheater or something. The less conflict, the better I say. I admit though, that was a really good cake"

"She really deserves that win, surprising us with something as good as THAT" Nami admitted.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, sure..."

The celebration lasted throughout much of the day with so many people in perpetually high spirits.

**Epilogue**

With everybody else gone, Jack stayed behind to console a disappointed Karen.

"That's okay, Karen! Those chocolate wines were really good! Maybe you could make an entire cuisine based around wines!" Jack exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Really!"

Karen smiled with much relief. "I... don't know what to say. After ruining so many dishes throughout my life... I actually... made something exceptional"

"More than exceptional!" Jack cried. "Katie's cake may have won over in the end, but those chocolates impressed us all! You really know your wines, and Nami did say that you had some really good ideas! Just stick with them and you'll get really good before you know! Then, just maybe, you could compete in a future Harvest Chef Competition and show everyone how much you improved!"

Slowly, a tear of joy ran down Karen's cheek.

"T-thank you, Jack! I'm sorry I forced you into continuing the competition, knowing how much people have looked down at my cooking for so long! I promise I'll come back here as a talented chef worthy of the Harvest Chef name!" Karen exclaimed.

She then gave her childhood friend a big hug.

Jack took a deep breath to gain some air. "Good for you. I can't wait for that day to come. I'm just glad you showed the kind of promise you have today!"

Karen's smile widened. She then grabbed some bags she packed and started heading towards the Inn.

"Hey Jack! It's getting late about now! I think I'll spend the night around here before I head back!" She called out to him.

"That's good to know. I'd be very worried to know you tried making it back during the night time. I hear it can get pretty dangerous on the trek at night" Jack answered back.

Karen took a few more paces towards the inn before she turned back to her childhood friend once more.

"Goodnight! Have fun with Lyla!" she cried.

"Will do" Jack casually called out as he waved his hand.

After Karen disappeared from view, Jack scouted the area.

"Okay, you can come out now!" he suddenly called out.

From behind the trees, the mysterious figure from earlier reappeared. It revealed itself to be good old Carl with the cold mask on his face.

"That was some daring act you pulled back there" Jack groaned.

"I couldn't help it... I had to... for the sake of Cafe Callaway!" Carl cried out.

Jack sighed. "I didn't take you for such a prideful young man. You see way too honest and upstanding for this kind of thing."

Earlier, during the break, Carl had snuck into the Square to replace Katie's Cocoa cake with a creation of his own. Ultimately, He couldn't stand loosing out in the end because of his cold, and because of his apprentice's incompetence.

"You realize, of course, that you just fed a whole lot to Katie's ego. You'll have to deal with that, now" Jack added.

"I'll... find a way to deal with that in the mean time. Anyway, Thanks for not telling on me" Carl said with gratitude.

Jack shrugged. "Whatever. I didn't say a thing mostly because you were supposed to be competing instead. You were likely to have won out as the active participant anyway. I... feel sorry for what was done to Karen, though. I hope this sorry outcome is forgivable."

"To be honest, I thought Gwen deserved the honor of cooking off against the challenger more than I did. I was... really flattered to have been chosen, so I felt a personal sense of duty to this task" Carl confessed.

Jack nodded. "No need to be hard on yourself. Both of you are good cooks, but I guess this ended up being better for Karen. Katie was a more fitting match for her, Anyway"

"Don't remind me", Carl responded flat.

"... Right." Jack uttered as he laughed nervously.

Carl then went into a concerning fit of coughs.

"Hey, man! You better get back to bed now! I'm surprised your health managed to hold out for long, but should seriously take care of that before you make it worse!" Jack said.

Carl nodded slowly as he carried himself back to his cafe. "Again, I'm -cough- sorry! I'll -cough- find a way to make up it! -hack- cough-"

Jack gave his friend a peculiar look before he started heading back to his home on 3-2 Flower Bud Lane.

"Just... what in the world was Mayor Theodore thinking when he arranged this, anyway? I don't understand that guy's way of thinking sometimes" Jack asked himself as he walked away from the Square.


End file.
